Diabetes Implant

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an incurable condition in which the body’s immune system destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. T1D accounts for about 10 percent of all diabetes cases, and unlike Type 2 diabetes, it cannot be prevented or reversed by changes in lifestyle. Instead, T1D patients must rely on daily insulin injections to keep their glucose levels within range. Left untreated, diabetes increases the risk of heart attack and stroke by two to three times, and can lead to blindness, kidney failure and neuropathy. By 2030, the World Health Organization has predicted that diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death worldwide. As a result, researchers have been working hard to find a cure for this potentially debilitating disease.

Clinical trials are now underway using a new device that not only manages insulin levels automatically, but rebuilds the cells needed to produce insulin in the body. Known as PEC-Direct, it’s a credit card-sized implant that releases insulin when needed, and also carries pancreatic beta cell precursors, which, once inside the body, mature into endocrine cells to produce their own insulin. The goal is for these cells to eventually replace the need for injections by releasing the hormone automatically.